2016 Las Pizarras Chardonnay

I had the luck of tasting two vintages of the Chardonnay from slate/schist soils side by side, including the 2016 Aconcagua Costa "Las Pizarras" Chardonnay. The juice from the whole clusters decanted for 24 hours, fermented in oak barrels with indigenous yeasts and then aged in barriques for 14 months. It's a little more compressed than the 2017 and has good, vibrant flavors with some floral notes and some gentler flavors, perhaps more similar to the 2014, with the austere schist minerality but with more volume and juicy fruit. There is a little more malolactic in this year. If people have the idea that 2015 is warmer than 2016 and that 2017 is again warmer, the character of these Aconcagua Costa bottlings is the opposite: 2015 and 2017 are fresher, and 2016 is a little warmer. This sometimes happens, as the cooler years are harvested later and the warmer ones see an earlier harvest, so that the wines are exactly the opposite of what you expect. This is great, and its only problem is being tasted next to the 2017, which is otherworldly. 5,000 bottles were filled in May 2017.

Just launched in the UK. Schist. Certainly extremely minerally and bone dry. No suggestion of sweetness and oak! A very dramatic statement. I wouldn’t mind just a tad more fruit but the work of the French geologist is clear. (JR)

A big uptick in price, the 2016 Chardonnay Las Pizarras comes all from estate fruit, saw a 100% native fermentation, and spent 13 months in 18% new French oak. It’s a rich yet also racy Chardonnay that’s still juicy and unformed, yet has terrific potential. Caramelized stone fruits, citrus blossom, hints of brioche, and white flowers all flow to a rich, medium to full-bodied, concentrated white that has vibrant acidity, a big mid-palate, and a clean finish. Give it 2-4 years of bottle age and it should keep for a decade.